Aliens: Dark Descent isn’t just another squad shooter, actually

If you saw the announcement trailer for Aliens: Dark Descent at last June’s Summer Games Fest and thought, OK, another squad-based shooter, well, think again. A gameplay video shown by IGN on Tuesday shows off the real-time tactical action game, launching June 20.

You’re forgiven for the confusion (if you were confused) — last year’s trailer was almost entirely cinematic and it presented the up-close, dire threat we’ve come to expect from the Alien franchise. In Dark Descent, the player is the squad commander with an isometric, overhead view allowing them to survey the field. Well, when the place is lit, as it often is not in any Aliens joint.

For those worried about their decision-making skills in the heat of an engagement, there’s a bullet-time feature that slows down time enough for you to distribute commands like a pro. And yes, permadeath is on the table in Aliens: Dark Descent. Would you expect anything else? I hope they still have save-scumming, though. Wouldn’t want to see too many beloved brothers-in-arms dragged off like that.

As for story, Aliens: Dark Descent tells the story of a Colonial Marines detachment whose ship has crashed into Planet Lethe (root word of lethal, btw) and, why not, investigate a Xenomorph outbreak there.

Aliens: Dark Descent, developed by Tindalos Interactive, will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X when it launches on June 20.